Enter the Dominatrix Cancelled; Saints Row 4 Next Year

THQ and Volition announce that the Enter the Dominatrix standalone expansion for Saints Row the Third will not be released as planned, but instead the content it was to include will be part of a planned new full installment in the open world action series, a game tentatively titled "The Next Great Sequel in the Saints Row Franchise." The expansion was planned for release this year, but the sequel is not due until calendar 2013. Here's the announcement, which includes the implications for THQ's bottom line:

THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) and Volition, Inc. today announced development of the standalone expansion Saints Row®: The Third – Enter the Dominatrix™ will now be incorporated into production of the next great sequel in the Saints Row® franchise, tentatively titled “The Next Great Sequel in the Saints Row Franchise.”

“The Next Great Sequel in the Saints Row Franchise.” "When I looked at the Enter The Dominatrix expansion in production at Volition, I was blown away by the ideas and desire to expand the fiction of the franchise,” said Jason Rubin, THQ’s President. “I asked the team what it could achieve given more time, more resources, and a broader scope for the project. We all agreed we wanted to play that game. When it comes to Saints Row, it’s clear our fans want bigger, better, and even more over the top, and that’s why Enter The Dominatrix will now be incorporated into a vastly expanded, full-fledged sequel, scheduled for calendar 2013.”

Added Rubin, “We believe the potential for this sequel is far greater as a full-priced, full-length, high quality, connected experience.”

The change in production will shift net sales from THQ’s 2013 fiscal year into fiscal 2014. As a result, THQ currently expects to have an approximate $20 million reduction to non-GAAP net sales and an approximate ($0.03) impact to non-GAAP net loss per share for fiscal 2013 when compared with previously-announced guidance.